Judge orders documents released in Walker aides probe

Madison — An appeals court judge ordered the release Wednesday of numerous documents in the closed secret investigation of aides to Gov. Scott Walker, including the personal emails of convicted aide Kelly Rindfleisch.

Also to be filed with the Court of Appeals are the search warrant for seizing records from Walker's office when he was Milwaukee County executive and a transcript of the secret hearing over that and other warrants. The search warrant was issued on Nov. 1, 2010, the day before Walker was elected governor.

Appeals Judge Patricia Curley ordered the filing of the records within 15 days as part of Rindfleisch's appeal. The office of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, sought to include the records in the court file as it fights Rindfleisch's contention that the warrants were overly broad.

The release of the records would give a glimpse into the 21/2 year John Doe investigation of Walker aides. A John Doe proceeding is Wisconsin's form of a secret judicial investigation of potential crimes or public misconduct and is similar to a federal grand jury investigation.

Curley's order comes a week after the Journal Sentinel filed a motion with John Doe Judge Neal Nettesheim seeking to have county documents and emails seized in the investigation returned to the county and made accessible to the public.

The order comes as the Republican governor gears up for re-election and pundits name him as a possible candidate for president in 2016.

Nowhere in the judge's two-page order does she refer to filing the records under seal.

Franklyn Gimbel, the attorney for Rindfleisch, argues that her case should be thrown out because her constitutional rights were violated by such an expansive search of her emails and property. Van Hollen's office said the appeals court needed to review a host of records that remain secret to understand the full context of why broad warrants were acceptable in this case.

Gimbel said Wednesday that he was unaware of Curley's decision. He did not oppose the state's motion to include the records in the court file, but Gimbel said he has yet to decide whether he'll make a motion asking the appeals judge to seal his client's personal emails.

"I don't know because I don't yet know what's there," he said.

The Department of Justice also had not seen the decision, agency spokeswoman Dana Brueck said. She had no comment on whether the department would seek to seal the records.

Walker's personal and campaign attorneys did not return calls late Wednesday. Walker campaign spokesman Jonathan Wetzel in an email said only that the case "does not involve the governor."

Rindfleisch, who was Walker's deputy chief of staff at the county, was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation after she pleaded guilty to one felony count of misconduct in office. As part of her plea, she was allowed to pursue an appeal.

The investigation by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's office led to criminal convictions of six individuals, including three former Walker aides.

Curley agreed to include in the case file emails retrieved from Rindfleisch's private email account and her personal computer, affidavits supporting the scope of the John Doe investigation in August 2010 and affidavits supporting search warrants related to Walker aides Darlene Wink and Tim Russell.

In addition, the judge's order would allow the release of affidavits in support of seizing records from Walker's office when he was county executive; search warrants for computers, financial records, cellphone records and remote data storage records in Rindfleisch's Columbus home; and the transcript and exhibits from the Nov. 1, 2010, hearing seeking those search warrants.

About Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley covers state government and state politics. He is the author, with Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein, of "More Than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin.”